During the early stages of filming Food Chains, Smriti Keshari followed farmworkers as they woke before dawn, commuted long routes by bus, and spent 10 to 12 hours picking fruits and vegetables. They battled harmful pesticides, limited access to shade and water, and, for the women, widespread sexual harassment.

As the producer of Food Chains, a documentary revealing the human rights violations and victories of America’s farmworkers, alumna Smriti Keshari found herself wearing many hats: planning production, fundraising, hiring staff, interviewing and filming in the fields, and helping coordinate release and outreach. But as a self-proclaimed foodie with a strong stake in labor, she also found herself deeply compelled by the lives of the film’s subjects—a group of farm laborers and activists working the fields and picket lines in southern Florida.

During the early stages of filming, Keshari RC’07 followed farmworkers as they woke before dawn, commuted long routes by bus, and spent 10 to 12 backbreaking hours picking fruits and vegetables. They battled harmful pesticides, limited access to shade and water, and, for the women, widespread sexual harassment. Keshari also saw that, for all their work, they were paid incredibly low wages.

“We live in a time where there’s so much interest in food production,” says Keshari, “but no interest in the hands that pick the food.”

The goal of Food Chains—which features actress Eva Longoria, who also was an executive producer—is to highlight the work of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a group of tomato pickers from southern Florida who are revolutionizing farm labor. Their Fair Food Program raises wages by enlisting major retailers to pay just one penny more per pound of tomatoes, and eliminates abuses in the field by monitoring and addressing worker complaints. Although exploitation remains a problem across the country, the story in Florida is now quite different.

“The film is one of hope and promise for the triumph of morality over corporate greed to ensure a dignified life for farmworkers and a more humane, transparent food chain,” she says. “To be part of a project that captures this narrative of change, there’s nothing better for me as a filmmaker.”